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(No Model.)

L. B. PRAHAR.

HJGKET BOOK CLASP. No. 368,685. PatentedAug. 23, 1887.

WITNESSES I INVENTOR ekfiia 01 BY m ATTORNEYS.

PETERS. mom-Limo m ur. Washmgioll, Dv (L NITED STATES.

POCKET-BOOK CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,685, dated August 23, 1887.

Application filed June 14, 1857. Serial No. 241,292. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS B. PRAHAR, of the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Clasp for Pocket-Books, &c., of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pocketbook or purse having my improved clasp applied thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the under surface of the main part of the clasp, the inner plate being removed; and Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on the line m 00 of Fig. 2, showing'the inner plate.

The invention will first be described in con nection with the drawings, and then pointed out in the claims.

The clasp is composed of three principal plates-the outer sliding plate, a, the intermediate plate, b, and the inner plate, a. The intermediate plate, I), is formed with the opening 1) in the center to receive the box a, made fast to or made a part of the under surface of i the outer plate, a, and the plate I) is provided with the points d, which are adapted to be passed through the flap A of the pocket-book and through orifices in the inner plate, 0, and then clinched for securing the clasp to the pocket-book. A central aperture, 0, is formed in the inner plate, 0, for the passage of the headed stud f, secured to the body of the pocket-book, which stud is adapted to enter the keyhole-shaped opening a made in the box a, when the plate a is shoved t0 the position shown in Fig. 2, which brings the enlarged portion of the opening a into coincidence with the aperture 0. When the plate a is shoved back to the position shown in Fig. 1, the narrow portion of the keyhole-shaped opening a. engages with the head of the stud f, and thus retains the pocket-book firmly closed. The box a is acted upon by the friction-springs 1) N, which constantly press against the tongues a a at the sides of the boX a. The springs b are made integral with the intermediate plate, I), by incising the plate at e 6 each side of the main central opening, b, and setting the tongues of metal thus formed out from the body of the plate, as shown in Fig. 2. The plate I) and friction-springs are thus formed froma single piece of metal at one operation by stamping the same in a die, so that the clasp is not only very cheap, but practical and not liable to get out of order.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. In a pocketbook or purse clasp, the intermediate plate, 1), formed with the opening I), and formed integrally with the tongues I)", set out from the face of the plate to form friction-springs at the sides of the said opening, substantially as described.

2. The intermediate plate, 1), formed with the opening b,and incised to form the tongues b at the sides of said opening to form frictionsprings, in combination with the plate a and box a, having side lugs, a substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

LOUIS B. PRAHAR.

Witnesses:

H. A. WEST, EDGAR TATE. 

